title: High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of levomepromazine (methotrimeprazine) and its main metabolites in serum and urine.
abstract: A new analytical method has been developed for simultaneous quantitation of levomepromazine and its five main metabolites in serum and urine. The method uses C-2 bonded phase extraction and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, based on ion-pair formation with dodecyl sulfate. The detection limits were 15 nM for levomepromazine and N-desmethyl levomepromazine, 28 nM for levomepromazine sulfoxide, and 56 nM for 3-hydroxylevomepromazine. 7-hydroxylevomepromazine, and O-desmethyllevomepromazine in serum, and lower in urine. The method was applied to measure steady-state serum and urine concentrations of levomepromazine and metabolites in five psychiatric patients. The concentrations of levomepromazine sulfoxide and N-desmethyllevomepromazine were generally higher than the concentrations of levomepromazine. The hydroxylated and O-demethylated metabolites were also found in higher concentrations than levomepromazine, but mainly as conjugates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Loennechen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hals
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Dahl
mesh_terms: D001800:Blood Specimen Collection; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008728:Methotrimeprazine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: C034953:methotrimeprazine sulfoxide; D008728:Methotrimeprazine